Water is an essential element for life, regulates body temperature, lubricates tissues, facilitates digestion, transport and absorption of various nutrients. Water is the most important beverage that we have available is able to satisfy your thirst and no calories. It is important to ensure our bodies a proper water supply, in fact, without the right amount of water even the bowel doesn't work as it should.
The ideal is to drink at least a liter and a half/two liters of water during the day and not just when you are thirsty. People who do sport, sweating a lot, or who work in the heat should drink larger amounts of water. When we are hot you should never drink cold water in order to avoid the risk of congestion, the refreshing feeling of fresh water is apparent shortly after sweating thirst again appears you must never drink too much water all at once, you need to drink in small SIPs and on several occasions and it is better to drink water at room temperature. It is a good habit to drink one or two glasses of water in the morning before breakfast and one or two in the evening before going to bed. Drink before meals, if you are following a diet, helps fill the stomach and decrease appetite. You can also drink water with meals provided in a manner that is not excessive (up to half a litre), so you do not slow down digestion.
When we drink we water our bodies trace elements like calcium, sodium, iron, magnesium, sulfur, fluorine, hydrogen carbonate mineral waters that are on the market are not all equal. Their characteristics depend on the minerals that are dissolved in it, it is important to choose one that best suits our needs as well as to our tastes.
The waters which originate from an underground aquifer can be defined as "minerals" as they are recognised as such by the Ministry of health, through chemical-physical and microbiological analyses (based on composition, purity and quality) that determine the characteristics of the water. Any chemical treatment that alters the composition of the water is forbidden: mineral waters should be bacteriologically pure and free from pollutants; must then be bottled as flow from the source. The only possible treatment is the addition of carbon dioxide to make sodas. They differ from drinking water from the tap, which can be taken from lakes, rivers or aquifers and surface can be subjected to treatments (such as adding chlorine) to make it drinkable.
What makes a mineral water different from another is its source of origin and mineral salts that it drags on into its underground route between the rocks, before gushing from a spring. The amount of minerals present in the water is identified by a parameter named "residue", which is the amount of minerals that remain deposited, after which a litre of water is evaporated to 180° c. Depending on the contents in minerals, the mineral waters are classified as:
- MINIMALLY with a fixed residual MINERALIZED less than 50 mg/l are very light, promote diuresis and the Elimination of small kidney stones
- MINERAL WATER with a salinity of less than 500 mg/l. Their reduced minerals content makes them suitable for everyday use, they also promote diuresis and contain little sodium.
- MINERALS with a salinity of between 500 and 1000 mg/l. In these waters the minerals content is quite high, which is why you should not drink more than one litre per day, you should in fact alternate on their consumption with that of mineral waters.
- RICH in MINERALS with a fixed residue of more than 1500 mg/l. given that are very rich in salts must be drinking healing purposes and on doctor's advice.
During a hypocaloric diet aimed to make you lose weight, the most suitable water and mineral water, which promotes diuresis, and then the removal of waste substances from the body, it is advisable to drink at least 1.5 to 2 liters per day.
For people who play sports, you might want to drink mineral water, thus allowing to replenish fluids as well as the minerals lost during exercise. The amount varies depending on the sport, its duration and the climatic conditions (if it's hot, you must drink more!), roughly ranging from 1.5 to 3 litres per day. For sports is important to the intake of calcium for bone strength, muscle contraction, nerve impulse transmission, the intake of magnesium and potassium for muscle contractions, sodium and chlorine to the water balance, to avoid a sense of fatigue due to deficiency.
In case of hypertension, you should choose a mineral water, low in sodium, which promotes diuresis. For people who suffer from kidney stones is a minimally water or mineral mineralized, which favours the Elimination of waste.
To facilitate digestion are helping the mineral waters of bicarbonate-sulphate type, because these two minerals promote digestive enzymes and lower acidity.
For women at risk of osteoporosis, and in all situations that require an increased calcium intake (pregnant, nursing mothers, children, elderly, intolerance to milk and dairy products in General) might want to take a calcium-rich water, preferably alternating with a mineral water.
We define a "natural" water when it is non-carbonated, actually all are natural mineral waters, in the sense that flow from the source as they are, "water" is smooth without bubbles, carbonated "" is carbonated, naturally sparkling water "" is already slightly sparkling. Carbonated water can facilitate the digestion and promote a sense of fullness, gastric dilatation, is to be avoided if bloating or bloating
Let's take a look at the label to choose the most suitable mineral water for our needs we must take account of the various parameters that are shown on the label of bottles on sale:
- Fixed solids (content in minerals after evaporation of 1 liter of water at 180°), this value is low, more water is light
- Ph indicates the degree of acidity of the water, a pH below 7 indicates an acid water, pH equal 7 indicates a neutral water, a pH above 7 indicates an alkaline water, acid water AIDS digestion, alkaline water helps to balance the acidity of the stomach
- Temperature (in degrees C) water bottling
- Dissolved substances are the mineral salts present in one liter of water
- Bottled water must have a low value of nitrates and the absence of nitrites
- Bottled water should be bacteriologically pure
- The expiration date indicates the date by which you should consume the water bottled water should be stored in a cool place, away from light and heat of the Sun, which may alter the characteristics of the water.